Mapping

11/17/20

Did it. Made it through three weeks post surgery. Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but when you’re asked to keep the activity to a minimum and you are on a long-term antibiotic regimen, it doesn’t make for the most comfortable and energizing three weeks.

Well, energizing is the proverbial word going into tomorrow. Tomorrow, I begin the next phase at 8 AM. They referred to this next phase as Mapping.

There are four sections to mapping – supine, cardiovascular, voluntary movement and standing. For each one of the sections, the researchers will be activating different patterns of stimulation directly into my spinal cord to see what electrical activity they can pick up in the muscles as well as desired responses. It will be interesting to feel this for the first time.

My understanding is that during the supine phase, I will just be laying there for a few hours as they fire all their different stimulation combinations while monitoring, with muscle EKGs, any muscle activity. I believe it would be appropriate to categorize it as “getting to know you”!

Should be exciting.